Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Opportunities:

1. K-Mart and Sears closing over 400 store

          I found this in a recent news article I read about major stores closing. With so many of these stores closing, people will be looking for places to purchase the types of items they sold, which allows for new people to get into the market. For example, Sears sold washers and dyers, and now, a washer and dyer store could open to fill the need of the people that were shopping at Sears beforehand. The prototypical customer is a family who needs a new washer and dryer. I think the opportunity could be easy to exploit because the customers of sears and K-mart need places that have the same products.     

I identified this opportunity because my Uncle, who now owns a printing company, capitalized on an opportunity such as this. A large printing company left the area and he noticed the need and filled it.  

2. Sustainability

          I found this opportunity when thinking about different items that I have recently started purchasing. Over the past few months I have been buying foods that are organic and shopping at healthier grocery stores such as Trader Joe's. Once I started thinking about that more, I started to think about how not only do I look for a healthier diet, I also look for a more "green" market. This includes buildings that save energy and places that pay respect to the environment. This opens up opportunities for businesses to become more "green" and receive a new customer basis that is growing everyday. The customers are the people that want more conservative ways of living. The opportunity is fairly easy to exploit because the customers want to shop locally, so if a new local business is opened, the customers will want to try it. 

I noticed this opportunity because I am an architecture major and have been thinking about ways to save energy and conserve the environment. I am currently working on a project that would be a sustainable space that would focus on its interaction with nature and how little of an economic footprint it could leave.         

Regulatory Changes

1. Taxes

         I found this while watching the news with all of the recent talk of tax changes. This change in taxes will  cause more tax to fall onto business owners. However, because the taxes are shifting, many opportunities will arise. One direct one that I see is the business owners who are being taxed more heavily will need help figuring out the new taxes. This creates a market where people who are good at understanding tax law can help. The customer will most likely be small businesses. I think it will be difficult to exploit because the law is very complicated and not easily understood.

I identified this opportunity because I know tax reform is difficult to understand, and this market already somewhat exits. People currently are getting help with their taxes, but a tax change will cause these businesses to have to adapt, or be overtaken by a new business.    

2. Regulations on Cryptocurrency

          I found this while talking to my Dad one night about cryptocurrencies and if he thought anything of it. There is an opportunity here because many of the current cryptocurrencies have little to no regulations and their prices fluctuate so heavily. If someone was able to make a cryptocurrency that had regulations on it and a steady value, then this would open up an entire new way of payment. The customer in this is people who are looking for a more efficient and safer way to pay for things. It is difficult to exploit because putting in new regulations is not an easy task, and stabilizing a currency is very difficult without a large, trusted backing. 

I identified this opportunity when talking to my dad about it. We are both tech-savy people who are looking at the newest trends. We noticed the rise in bitcoin, but also noticed how volatile it could be, and that a cryptocurrency that was regulated would be very efficient.